Electrical panels, also known as main service panels, electrical main enclosures, or breaker boxes, are found in residential, commercial, and industrial structures. Electrical panels provide a primary connection point for electricity supplied to the structure from an electrical utility, and contain numerous breakers and individualized terminations for electrical cables or wires. The cables or wires often take the form of non-metallic sheathed cables (NM and NMC, also known as Romex-type cables, and SER cables) which are often found in residential structures, or of conduit-protected cables which are often found in commercial and industrial structures. In some situations, other cables, such as fiber optic cables, may be supported. Examples of electrical panels and various non-metallic sheathed cables and/or conduit-protected cables are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,784,249; 7,381,907; 7,405,923; 7,616,432; and D702,198.
The most common panel wire support found in many structures in the United States is a 2×6 or a 2×4 that spans the distance between two studs, approximately 12-inches above an electrical panel suspended between those two studs. The 2×6 (or 2×4) is oriented with the longer dimension running parallel to the corresponding wall, and cables, wires, and/or conduit are stapled to the exposed larger face of the 2×6 (or 2×4). Examples of specific wire supports are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,996,943 and 8,505,858, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US20170063064.
In new construction, a popular method for supporting wires is to cut a 2×6 (or 2×4) piece of wood to a length equal to the width of an electrical panel and toenail (affix with nails driven in at an angle) said piece of wood between the studs 12-inches above the electrical panel. A worker can then lay cables and/or wires over the top of the length of 2×6 (or 2×4) and individually staple the cables or wires to the piece of wood. Problems with this method include the time and effort involved, and possible damage to the cables and/or wires before they reach the panel. In addition, this method does not quite comply with the National Electric Code, putting the supporting of the wires against code by ¼ inch.
Other types of supports for wires, cables, and conduit are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,921,607; 4,291,855; 4,440,374; 5,653,411; 5,669,590; 6,222,128; 6,313,406; 6,513,766; 6,655,644; 6,857,606; 7,301,101; 7,347,401; 7,608,782; 7,784,751; D407,963; D663,274; US2001/0022231; and US2007/0137888.
The disclosures of these and all other publications referenced herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. However, none of these other types of supports are both configured to support the large and varied collection of cables such as might need to be passed into an electrical panel and designed to be easily installed between two studs in a stud wall above an electrical panel at any desired height. For at least this reason, there is a need for a panel wire support that can be affixed easily and quickly between two studs some distance apart at some known distance above (or below) an electrical panel, that supports and holds fixed a large number of cables and/or wires without damaging them.